Hardcore New York based street kings Xombie opened with a very serious set performing with a Mad Ball/Primus feel and a Rage Against the Machine lyrical delivery. Their sound a self-described Hood Metal mixing hip hop/rap and metal into their own version of heavy street cred. Adam Cruz spits out lyrical novels every five minutes with a Henry Rollins/Mike Muir spoken word rapid fire pace. They soar high above the city smog in the metal heavens with the mighty Terrordactayl, work their game on the ladies G style on Excuse Me Miss and finish up with a PowerSmash giving the crowd something to remember them by. There are plenty of Biohazard signs in New York but there’s a few more Beware of Xombies too.
Next are two hot chicks from Cincinnasty and the three guys that play music with them. The Fallen, a multi meaning moniker, most important definition being ‘Those that have fallen, will rise up from their knees with a new self-identity and fight another day.’ The band, a metal-core outfit, most members formally in alt metal band Chaotic Existence, they purged forward with a heavier sound and the sweet, harmonic, soothing feminine growls and sexy screams of Tosha Montgomery. She spent the set sharing her Wicked Wisdom with the crowd with a Straight Line Stitch to the ear. They opened with the mysterious supernatural Ghost of the Unknown playing under the Blood Red Skies to the Last One Standing. They slow it down taking a seat on the speakers as Montgomery gives the throat demoness’s a break for a few minutes bringing out the inner diva for the first half of Dying, their monster 80’s power metal ballad tribute. Proving they’re a band not all about serious stuff they lighten the mood playing an instant crowd favorite about the nation’s love of ‘motorboating’. The Fallen incorporate a unique blend of metal, mixing an early Slayer sound with Slipknot guitar grooves adding the vocal elements of Angela Gossow and Morgan Lander.
Just so everyone knows it takes a real badass to sport a white sweater/pink shirt ensemble at a metal show. It takes ever more guts to do it singing with a band onstage. Never the less Josh Marshall from Dayton’s southern metal outfit Amongst Villains looks ‘fabulous’ no matter who he’s wearing. To his credit the sweater came off and gave apologies for both. They’re a band of everyman, spit and shine with a bloody finger scratching the floor working man’s metal with a heavy loaded guitar sound with some Zakk Wylde southern comfort. We went on an intoxicated downstream trip on the Black River Ruin. They brought out a special guest from In the Cut to help out on Heavy is the Crown. They will be returning to the stage on December 15 for the Moshpits and Lighters III local metal showcase.
Psychostick could be considered a modern day version of Scatterbrain. They brought in the holidays early with the Santa’s an A—–e Tour, some pretty red wreaths and a giftwrapped drum kit for all. A huge inflatable jolly Chris Cringle rocks and bobbles on stage just like the big fat cholesterol filled bastard himself. The band thanked everyone for sacrificing their World of Warcraft Saturday to come out and hear some brutal Christmas metal. They welcome you to the show with Welcome to the Show a song sung as the opening song sung letting everyone know they’re at an f’n concert hearing the opening song sung. Concerts are badass, concerts are cool. Show us your middle fingers, you guys are dicks. Take out your car keys… hey don’t leave yet! Now jingle them to make a nice Christmassy sound! Now put them away and give your neighbor a hug (any metal band that can make metal dudes hug each other (some of which didn’t know each other) in public surrounded by hot chicks is well, a unique form of crowd control I guess). Concerts are bad ass, YEAH! Singer Rawrb sports a weird shiny foam spiked pointed hat thingy. Presumably a homemade version of Doc’s mind reading Back to the Future head helmet, pimped out for the occasion. Bassist Matty brings out his cartoonish nature with a head trip tribute to Bullwinkle and friends. Now it’s time to break out the demonic ho’s, err holiday songs. The double bass pedal kickin yellow snow makin fun loving fury of Jingle Bell Metal. The double extended 24 second remix version of Silent Night followed by a sugary green and red light show filling all with angst and Christmas cheer, along with some curiously strong Jell-O shots. It was washed down with a delicious Sandwich for Santa. Psychostick is where hell and the North Pole collide in a huge pile of red snow. Switching gears we learn how to count to four with Drowning Pool, sort of. It’s an educational mathematically challenging show, elementary. Now that your brain hurts, Psychostick makes your body hurt with the most ingenious original invention every created with built in safety features, the slow motion mosh pit. In other words, the sssloooooww mootiooon moooosh piiiiit…. Old school circle pit! Ok, slower, everyone slower, slower, SLOWER! Stop moving, ok go! Next was a song dedicated to all the boobs in the house, you know… those blessed with less than average intellectually intelligent individual thought patterns. Returning to the holiday theme they sing about sh—y sweaters spreading some holiday Hate Times 8. They sure do hate all the haters who hate the other hating haters who hate the most. They don’t like Bing Crosby or people that hate eggnog either. Now it’s time for some Girl Directions, some girl directions, which way do I go woman? Uhm, like um, you go like uhm, that way, uhm….I guess.
Speaking of bad directions this is the true story of Rudolf who killed people Dexter style, and was a blood red nosed freak of nature. System of a put the f’n pudding down! It’s time for the yogurt and eggnog lover’s song. Now, slow dance… by yourself! No clingy girlfriends. They wish you a Merry Christmas, they wish you a Merry Christmas, they wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy taco. A roll of large industrial size gift wrap crowd surfed on this one, along with a huge stuffed oversized taco. Now grab the guy with the sombrero! Next up is a song about the night Santa died fighting off the aliens. (live, on stage intermission brought to you by Hoagy Carmichael) And you know what goes great with Hoagies? Beer, that’s right beer, we all love beer, beer is good, let’s go drink beer with a girl named Ruthie. Time for the Wii, err WEE, worst encore ever. After all the hoopla, jokes, serious social commentary, yelling, screaming, wassailing it was time to send the crowd home happy or at least distracted with a song about hope, faith, high social morals and world peace about all the new year’s resolutions you won’t keep so, Happy F’n New Year from….. wait for it, PSYCHOSTICK!!!!
Tonight Psychostick proved to the dozens of hundreds of fans, including die hard super fan Rob Bowling, they’re one of the greatest, fastest, most brutal, melodic, jazzy, loudest, instrumental bands with loud vocals that perform comedy and Christmas metal songs from Phoenix on a tour called Santa’s an A—–e on the McGuffy’s stage in Dayton Ohio in late November of 2012 around 11 in the evening on a Saturday night at McGuffy’s House of Rock amongst other bands that do the exact same thing.
